Walking tamper



June 10 1924.

D. L. SAUERHERING WALKING TAMPER Filed Jan. 24 1922 :5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q RN 3 mm H NE N W M M H w A A 5 z I .1

June 10 1924.

1 D. SAUERHERING WALK ING TAMPER Filed Jan. 24, 1922 s Sheets-5beet 2 INVENTOR -L. .finusRI-le RING,

A fro/Mrs WITNESSES June 10. 1924; 1,497,594

D. L. SA UERHERING WALKING TAMPER Filed Jan. 24', 1922 s Sheets-Sheet s N88 1 V INVENTOR 9 Z..Z.5A ERMA-Ri e,

I BY

14 TTOHNEYS Patented June 10, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DOUGLAS L. SAUERHERING, OF WAUSAU', WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF TO W. W. ALBERS, 0F WAUSAU, WISCONSIN.

WALKING TAMPER.

Application filed January To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DOUGLAS L. SAUER- HERING, a citizen of the United States, and

a resident of the city of VVausau, inthe county of Marathon and State of VVisconsin, have invented certain new and Improved lValking Tampers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to tamping devices,

and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an improvement over the tamper disclosed in my prior application on account of which Letters-Patent of the United States, No.

1,235,729 were granted to me on Aug. 7,

1917, said improvement consisting in the provision of a tamper having tamping members supported for upward and downward movements and means operating automatically to release the tamping members from the driving mechanism comprised in the device when thetam-ping members have 2 passed the highest points of their travel and have begun to descend, whereby the driving mechanism is relieved of the strain that would be placed thereon otherwise on account of the relatively great weight of the tamping members and the weight of the tamping members is utilized to a maximum degree in the tamping operations.

A further object of my invention is to provide in a device of the character described a novel form of clutch for controlling the connections between the source of driving power and the tamping members.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and the novel features of the invention will be particularly outlined in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in the form now preferred by me,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the tamper with the hood thereof removed,

Figure 3 is a transverse section through a portion of the tamper, showing the clutch comprised therein and other elements associated with the clutch,

Figure 4 is an enlarged section through 24,, 1922. Serial No. 531,442.

:a counter-shaft included in the device, showing the clutch in inactive or released position,

Figure 5 is a viewsimilar to Figure 4, showing the clutch in active or engaged position, and

Figures 6 and 7 are detail perspective views, the former showing co-operating elements of the clutch and the latter showing other elements of the clutch and the counter-shaft associated with the clutch.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the frame structure of the embodiment of the invention illustrated is indicated generally at 1. Such structure comprises an upper frame member 2 of rectangular conformation and being disposed in a horizontal plane. The upper frame member 2 has U-shaped vertical frame members 3-3 depending from the ends thereof, the arms thereof being arranged in parallelism with their ends attached to the upper frame member 2 so that the web portions thereof lie in a plane parallel with the plane of the upperframe member 2. The arms of the U-shaped members 3--3 are connected by longitudinally extending horizontal members 44, the latter lying in the same plane and being secured to the arms of the U shaped members at points nearer to the web portions of the latter than to the upper frame member 2. The longitudinal members 4-4 are connected with the upper frame member 2 by means of pairs of spaced-apart vertical members 55 and the corresponding vertical members are connected by horizontal members 7 and 8, respectively. A horizontal plate 9 extends transversely of the frame and is supported upon the longitudinal members 44.

The driving and transmission mechanism comprised in the device consists of a suitable power plant or prime mover, which in the present instance is an electrically controlled motor 10 having a drive shaft 11, and other elements which will now be described. The drive shaft 11 carries a drive gear 12 which is in mesh with a gear 13 loosely mounted upon a counter-shaft 14. The latter is journaled in bearings 15 and 16, respectively supported on the transverse members 7 and 8. A gear 17 is secured to the counter shaft 14 at a distance from the gear 13 and is in mesh with agear 18 secured to a final drive shaft 19 journaled in bearings 20 and 21 respectively supported on the transverse frame members 7 and 8. A crank shaft 22 is journaled adjacent to its ends in bearings carried by the Ushaped frame members 3-8, such as that indicated at 2-3 in Fig. 1, and is journaled intermediate its length in spaced-apart bearings such as that indicated at 24 in Fig. 3. The bearings 24 are formed on hangers 25, depending from the longi tudinal frame members it-1- and extending transversely of the frame. A sprocket 26 secured to the final driveshaft 19 drives a sprocket 27 secured to the crank through the agency of a chain 28 engaged by the said sprockets.

It is to be noted that the gear 13 is considerably larger diametrically than the gear 12 and that the gear 18 is likewiselarger than the gear 17, whereby the speed at which the crank shaft will be rotated will be considerably less than the rotational speed ofthe drive shaft 11.

The crank shaft'22 is operatively connected with a plurality of tamp rods 29 by means of bearings 30 formed on the cranks of the crank shaft and receiving the tamp bars at points adjacent to the lower ends of the latter. It is to be observed that adjacent tamp bars are disposed on opposed cranks. Each of the tamp bars is connected at its lower end with a flat tamping foot 31, the connection therewith being pivotal, as indicated at 32. The tamp bars are in clined so that the upper end portions thereof extend through alined elongated openings 33 formed through a guide-bar 3a which is superimposed upon the upper frame member 2 and extends longitudinally thereof. It will thus be apparent that when the crank shaft is rotated by a torque delivered thereto from the motor 10 that the frame structure will be advanced in a manner closely simulating walking since the rearmost tamping feet will be lifted and moved forwardly until the crank shaft has passed dead center when such tamping feet will move downwardly and forwardly to deliver a tamping blow. On account of the pivotal connections between the tamping feet and the tamp rods, it is obvious that certain of the tamping feet will remain stationary while the tamping feet carried by the opposed cranks describe the path just described. A'handle 35 is attached to the frame and provides a means for conveniently directing the movement of the tamping device. A hood '36 is detachably'secured upon the upper frame member Qand protects the moving parts of the device from material falling thereupon when the device is applied to certain kinds of service, as for instance, in the tamping of ensilage.

It is desirable that means he provided for disconnecting the heavy tamping feetfrom the driving mechanism when the. feet are descending in order that the weight of such feet may be utilized to a maximum degree in delivering the tamping blow and in order that the strain which would otherwisebe occasioned in the motor, on account of the relatively great weight of the tamping feet, may be obviated. To this end, I provide a clutch for disconnecting the counter-shaft 14 from the drive shaft 11v when either of the opposed sets of tamping feet has passed dead center and has begun to descend. As illustrated in the drawings the clutch comprised in the device includes an outer clutch member or drum 37 of substantially cup-shape, which clutch member is formed integrally with or separately and rigidly secured to a hub or collar 38 carried by the gear 13. The clutch member 37 has the outer face thereof bored or recessed to provide a chamber 39 of circular cross section, in which are disposed a pair of floating clutch shoes 40-40. The latter have their remote edges curved to conform with the curvature of the wall of the chamber 39 and are provided with forwardly extending flanges or extensions 41- 11 which are of less thickness than the clutch shoes proper and have their inner faces dis )osed in the plane of the corresponding .aces of the clutch shoes; that is, contiguous to the bottom or end wall of the chamber 39. The extensions 4141, being of less thickness than the clutch shoes, define shoulders 42-42 on the latter, which shoulders confront each other, as shown, the shoulders 4-2-42 being cut away intermediately along an arc of a circle, as indicated at 49-43. A. pair of parallel guide bars 4444 projecting from one of the shoulders 42 adjacent to the opposite ends thereof are received in co-operating sockets 45-45 formed in the other of the shoulders 4242, wl'lereby the clutch shoes 404t0 are n'iaintained in opposed relation while permitted to move toward and away from each other.

As stated, the guide shoes 40 are disposed within the chamber 39 and the flanges 4141 are cut-away intermediately of their length, as at lb-Jet; so that each flange partially embraces the counter shaft 14. Guide slots 4E74-.7 are formed through the flanges 41-4-1 and extend from opposite sides of the cut away portions 4646 along such cut away portions for a short distance, each of the slots a7 terminating substantially in a line extending equi-dist-ant between the opposite. ends of the said connected together clutch shoes. Projections or integral pins 48-48 on the inner face of a cam 49 work in the guide slots 474-7. The cam 49 which is substantially elliptical in cross sectional contour is rigidly secured to the counter-shaft 14: in position to co-act with the cutaway llll portions 43-43 of the shoulders 424-42. It is to be observed that the major axis of the cam 49 is of sufficient length to prevent a complete rotation of the cam 49 between the clutch shoes 40 when the latter are disposed within the cup-shaped outer clutch member 39 but that a slight rotational movement of the cam is possible. The guide slots 4747 diverge from the approximate ends thereof and the clutch shoes 40-40 will thus be guided apart when moving relatively to the cam 49 in one direction and will be guided toward each other when moving in the opposite direction relatively to the cam, it being understood that only limited movements of the cam and of the clutch shoes relatively are possible and that the torque imparted to the counter-shaft 14 from the clutch shoes in a manner which will be hereinafter described, will be communicated to the counter shaft through the cam and not through the guide pins 48.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. On account of the relative sizes of the cooperating gears 12 and 13 and 17 and 18, the crank shaft 22 will be rotated at a speed considerably less than that of the drive shaft 11. The counter-shaft will, of course,

remain stationary momentarily when the motor 10 is first actuated on account of the connection of the counter-shaft with the crank shaft carrying the tamping feet. At the beginning of the operation the clutch shoes will be in constricted position, as illustrated in Figure 4 but will 'frictionally engage the walls of the chamber 39 to such an extent that the rotation of the clutch shoes about the axis of the counter-shaft will commence co-incidentally with the rotation of the outer clutch member 37. The clutch shoes will move apart into expanded position, as illustrated in Figure 5, on account of the engagement of the projections or pins 4848 with the guide slots 47 47 and the outer clutch member 37 and the clutch shoes 4040 will move as a unit relatively to the cam 49 until in the position with respect to the latter in which illustrated in Fig. 5. The came 49 will then rotate with the clutch shoes and outer clutch member 39 in the direction indicated by the arrows and as a result a torque will be communicated to the crank shaft 22 which will occasion a rotation of the latter and the lifting of the rearmost tamping feet 31. hen

i the crank shaft has been rotated past dead center, in the manner just described, the speed thereof will be accelerated on account of a torque imparted thereto by the descending tamping feet, and the cam 49 will rotate independently of the clutch shoes 4040 and at a greater rotational speed, thereby permitting the clutch shoes 404O to move inwardly into constricted position and to be disconnected from the outer clutch member 39 until the lifted tamping feet have struck the surface to be tamped and have delivered a tamping blow. The cam 49 will then remain stationary momentarily until again engaged by the clutch shoes 40-40 in the manner described, when the other set of tamping feet will be raised and the operation just described will be repeated. Since the tamping feet have both oscillatory and vertical reciprocatory movements, the device will move under its own power in one direction and a relatively large area may, therefore, be traversed in a minimum of time and without involving the use of labor and power other than that supplied by the device itself to move the device from place to place.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. In a tamping device, a frame, a plurality of tamping members carried thereby and means for moving said tamping members upward and forward in respect to the frame and for releasing the tamping members when in the highest positions to which they may be moved, whereby said tamping members are then moved by gravity forward and downward in respect to the frame.

2. In a tamping device, a frame, a crank shaft journaled on the frame with its axis disposed in a horizontal plane, tamping members carried by the cranks of said crank shaft, a source of power mounted upon said frame and having a drive shaft in parallelism with the axis of said crank shaft, and clutch means arranged between said drive shaft and said crank shaft, said clutch means acting automatically to establish a driving connection between said drive shaft and the crank shaft to occasion upward movements of said tamping members and to release the drive shaft from the crank shaft as the tam-ping members begin to descend.

3. In a tamping device, a frame, a horizontal guide bar attached to said frame and having a plurality of guide openings formed therethrough at intervals along its length, said guide openings being arranged substantially in a straight line, a tamp rod for each guide opening and having the upper end portion thereof extending through said opening, said tamp rods being inclined and relatively arranged so that adjacent tamp rods diverge toward their lower ends and alternate tamp rods lie in the same inclined plane, a tamping foot attached to each tamp rod at the lower end of the latter, and a rotatable member carried by said frame and attached to all of said tamp rods a; equal distances from the lower ends there 0 DOUGLAS L. SAUERHERING. 

